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Legends Live On-The Complete Halo 5: Guardians Review

Halo 5: Guardians at a glance.

Developed by 343 Industries and published by Microsoft, the Halo 5: Guardians which is set to be released later in October this year will serve as a sequel to the already popular Halo 4. And just like its predecessors, which most us can admit to enjoying playing, Halo 5 is designed to be a first-person shooter game. However, PS4 & PS3 owners will be disappointed to know that the upcoming Halo will be exclusively released for the Xbox one video consoles only. So you might want to grab one before 27th October 2015 if you’re planning on trying your hand with this year’s Spartan Locke.

How the plot unfolds.

This year’s Halo takes an entirely different twist compared to the Halo 4 from back in 2012. However, the intensity of the game still revolves around the same colony worlds concept that you may be already familiar with. The action begins when the colony worlds are suddenly attacked. In the course of this attack, humanity’s greatest warrior ( Cortana ) goes missing, possibly captured by the alien forces. According to the developers, this actually happened at the end of Halo 4. Therefore Spartan Locke (the protagonist in this case ) is charged with the responsibility of hunting down the Master Chief and solving the mysterious cataclysmic developments threatening the universe.

The playing mode, teams, and artillery.

In the events leading to the loss of Cortana, Master Chief and his team of defective Spartans 2s go AWOL. The combination forms the Blue team that is under pursuit by the Fireteam Osiris. The Fireteam, in this case, is headed by Spartan Jameson Locke and their mission is to take over Chief’s team. Now, this pits the Blue team that composes of the legendary Spartan 2s, against the Fireteam Osiris, which comprises of high-tech Spartan 4s.

The four-person squad led by Spartan Locke sees the return of Edward Buck as one of the Spartan 4’s. The additional characters allow the flexibility of playing this game up to in groups of 4. Nonetheless, when playing solo, the rest of the squad members are controlled by AI ( Artificial Intelligence). As usual with the Halo series, each Spartan is accorded special skills and traits. This year’s Halo 5, however, will feature some standard abilities across every Spartan. This includes the ability to slide, clamber, charge, sprint and ground pound. And since it is a shooter game, it didn’t come as a surprise when 343 Industries announced that the game will feature top of the line assault weapons. Players will be able to get their hands on shotguns, hydras, sub machine guns, designated marksman rifles ( DMRs) and virtue rocket propellers.

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Further, this game, whose developers have described it as being as immersive as a high-res video game can get, will also allow the reviving of fallen comrades during co-operative play. Nevertheless, the other team members will have to give up a reward in return for the revitalization of the injured soldier. On that note, there’s no doubt that Halo 5 encourages teamwork and cooperation among the players if any level is to be completed successfully.

How it compares with the previous editions.

Halo 5 Guardians on Amazon

The Prometheans who made their debut in Halo 4 have received notable upgrades while the old enemies The Covenant are more resurgent than ever. Together with Buck, the already popular Arbiter returns to settle his duel with the Covenant.

Arena-wise, the new game has new locations and levels designed with both the multiplayer and single-player in mind. In general, you’ll have more alternative routes and strategies to complete objectives, which makes progressing through the levels more strategic and engaging than ever before.

The gaming experience

With the combat unfolding at 60fps, and Kazuma Jinnouchi’s superior soundtrack playing in the background, we can comfortably say that the Halo Genesis is now at its zenith. 343 has even issued a statement saying that to make the game more immersive and realistic, they had to record most sound effects from live gun blasts in various points, e.g outdoors, under culverts, in hallways, falling debris etc. Couple that with the breathtaking and impressive graphics that the Halo line is known for, then you have yourself a cinematic almost palpable experience.

Overall, the Halo 5: Guardian is likely to be 2015’s video game to beat. Be cautioned, however, that the new combative action showcased here is going to be very addictive and a notorious adrenaline stimulant. So you may find yourself ignoring a bunch of texts or calls as long as you have a Halo 5’s game in hand. Even worse, your house may burn down while you’re still edged on the couch fending off the Blue team!